Elsa Joubert
Elsa Joubert | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elsabé Antoinette Murray Joubert 19 October 1922 University of Stellenbosch |
Elsabé Antoinette Murray Joubert
languages, as well as staged as a drama and filmed as Poppie Nongena.[1]
Early life and career
Elsa Joubert was born and raised in the Cape settlement of
University of Stellenbosch from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1942 and an SED (Secondary Education Diploma) in 1943. She continued her studies at the University of Cape Town which she left with a Master's
degree in Dutch-Afrikaans literature in 1945.
After graduating, Joubert taught at the Hoër Meisieskool, an all-girls high school in
Cradock, then worked as the editor of the women's pages of Huisgenoot, a well-known Afrikaans family magazine, from 1946 to 1948. She then started writing full-time and travelled extensively in Africa, from the springs of the Nile in Uganda, through the Sudan, to Cairo, as well as to Mozambique, Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar, and Angola. She also visited Indonesia
.
In 1950, Joubert married Klaas Steytler, a journalist and later publisher and author, who died in 1998. She had three children, two daughters and one son, and lived in Oranjezicht, Cape Town.[2]
She died in Cape Town on 14 June 2020 due to COVID-19-related causes during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.[3] In May 2020, during the pandemic, she wrote an open letter to relax restrictions and allow home care residents to see family. “We are in the last months and weeks of our lives,” she wrote, “and we who live in homes or institutions, however wonderful, are totally cut off from our family members.”[4]
Awards
- Fellow of the British Royal Society of Literature
- Honorary doctoratefrom Stellenbosch University (2001)
- Eugène Marais Prize for Ons wag op die kaptein (1964)
- CNA Prizefor Bonga (1971)
- W.A. Hofmeyr Prize, for Poppy Nongena (1979)
- W.A. Hofmeyr Prize and Hertzog Prize for Die reise van Isobelle
- Louis Luyt Prize and CNA Prize (1997)
- Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize of the Royal Society of Literature for Poppie (1980)[5]
- Olivier Award for the best play (London)
- Obi Award for best script (New York City)
- Hertzog Prize for prose (1998)[6]
List of works
Travelogues
- Water en woestyn (Uganda en Kaïro), Dagbreek Boekhandel, 1957
- Die verste reis (Wes-Europa), 1959
- Suid van die wind (Madagaskar), 1962
- Die staf van Monomotapa (Mosambiek), 1964
- Swerwer in die Herfsland (Oos-Europa), 1968
- Die nuwe Afrikaan (Angola), Tafelberg, 1974
- Gordel van Smarag (Indonesië), Tafelberg, 1997
Novels and short stories
- Ons wag op die kaptein – To die at sunset, Tafelberg, 1963
- Die Wahlerbrug, Tafelberg, 1969
- Bonga, Tafelberg, 1971
- Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena, Tafelberg, 1978 – The long journey of Poppie Nongena (1980), translated into 13 languages and also performed on stage as drama
- Melk (Short Stories), Tafelberg, 1980
- Die laaste Sondag – The last Sunday, Tafelberg, 1983
- Poppie – die drama (co-author Sandra Kotzé), 1984
- Die vier vriende, 1985 – The four friends (1987) (children's book)
- Missionaris, 1988
- Dansmaat (Short Stories), Tafelberg, 1993
- Die reise van Isobelle, Tafelberg, 1995
- Twee Vroue, Tafelberg, 2002
Autobiographies
- 'n Wonderlike Geweld, Tafelberg, 2005 – A Lion on the Landing (2014), translated into English by Irene Wainwright
- Reisiger, Tafelberg, 2010
- Spertyd , Tafelberg, 2017
References
- ^ Anonymous (17 February 2011). "Elsa Joubert". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Breuer, Rosemarie. "Elsa Joubert". www.stellenboschwriters.com. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Eloff, Herman. "Iconic SA author Elsa Joubert, 97, dies of Covid-19". Arts. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize". The Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ Eloff, Herman. "Iconic SA author Elsa Joubert was 'a pioneer - ahead of her time'". Arts. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
External links
- Elsa Joubert discography at Discogs
- Cowell, Alan (26 June 2020). "Those We've Lost. Elsa Joubert, 97, Dies; Afrikaans Writer Explored Black Reality". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2020. Obituary.
